1. Technical Field
The application relates to a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material, and an easily cleaned lifting device in a beverage bottling plant.
2. Background Information
Beverage bottling plants for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material have a filling machine for filling bottles with a liquid in a container filling process. Such filling machines usually comprise a plurality of filling positions, with each filling position having a filling element to fill a corresponding bottle with liquid beverage filling material. There is possibly also provided an apparatus to move empty bottles to a filling element, and each filling element being configured and disposed to receive a corresponding bottles to be filled from said apparatus to move empty bottles. Upon filling, an apparatus removes a filled bottle from a filling element. There may possibly also be provided an apparatus to hold a bottle to be filled in sealing attitude at a filling element, and each filling element having a portion to introduce at least one process pressure into the interior space of a corresponding bottle, as well as at least one pressure sensor for each filling element, each sensor being disposed and configured to sense a pressure related to the interior of a corresponding bottle that is connected with the corresponding filling element, and each sensor being configured to produce at least one indication representative of a sensed pressure related to the interior of a corresponding bottle. There may also be provided a controller that is configured to receive from a corresponding sensor at least one indication representative of a sensed pressure related to the interior of a bottle; and apparatus configured to control at least one process parameter related to filling a bottle in the filling machine. That controller may be further configured to control the control apparatus for the at least one process parameter of the filling machine.
Also known are filling plant systems that include a cleaning station to rinse or otherwise clean containers such as bottles and the like. Thus, a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can possibly comprise a cleaning station to clean bottles, a beverage filling machine with a plurality of beverage filling positions, each beverage filling position having a beverage filling device for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material. The filling devices may have an apparatus being configured to introduce a predetermined volume of liquid beverage filling material into the interior of bottles to a substantially predetermined level of liquid beverage filling material, and the apparatus configured to introduce a predetermined flow of liquid beverage filling material comprising apparatus being configured to terminate the filling of beverage bottles upon liquid beverage filling material reaching said substantially predetermined level in bottles. There may also be provided a conveyer arrangement being configured and disposed to move bottles, for example, from an inspecting machine to the filling machine.
Upon filling, a closing station closes filled bottles.
There may further be provided a conveyer arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the filling machine to the closing station, a labeling station in the event that labeling of the filled bottles is intended, as well as a loading station that is configured to load filled bottles into containers, for example, in a six-pack arrangement. There may also be provided a conveyor arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the closing station to the loading station, and to and from the labeling station.
There is increasing demand in the beverage industry to fill containers with a beverage that does not need to be subjected to heating, due to reasons of taste or due to other reasons. In the case of cold-aseptic filling it is of particular importance to carry out the entire processing, from cleaning of the containers to the actual filling stage and to the closing of the containers, in a manner that is devoid of germs.
This aim requires, as a rule, special configuration of the entire equipment. In this it is of particular importance to design the equipment in such a way that the presence of recesses, edges, or undercuts is minimized, because these structures favor the collection of dirt and/or damaging microorganisms and, furthermore, also impair cleaning of the machines.
Additionally, it is of substantial advantage, to provide devices that permit cleaning of the equipment in a simple manner. Thus, practical application particularly desires so-called CIP-installations (cleaning in process), because such installations permit low-cost cleaning, with the entire installation being automatically rinsed with a disinfecting medium.
While previously CIP-installations and also the respective configuration of many machines or, respectively, machine components, have been the subject of many publications, the corresponding configuration of lifting devices at the filling machines has hitherto been neglected.
Container filling machines are preferably of a design of rotating machines that have a plurality of filling elements at their rotors. Support plates or support tables that can be raised and lowered are associated with the filling elements, whereby the support tables receive the containers that are to be filled via input star wheels. Further, a so-called lifting device is associated with each of these support tables; with these lifting devices having the purpose of raising the containers that are disposed on the support tables towards the filling elements and to press the containers against the filling elements. There have also become known solutions in which the support tables are replaced by radially projecting gripper elements that grasp the containers at the neck portion and hold the containers, these containers being in such cases as a rule plastic bottles.
In order to accomplish the above-described function, these lifting devices generally comprise a combination of a fixed piston and a moveably disposed cylinder structure that surrounds this piston. The structural components are disposed vertically, and with the piston being rigidly connected to the rotor of the container filling machine. The cylinder can be moved up and down in vertical movements. The cylinder chamber or cavity that is established between the fixed piston and the moveable cylinder, is, in most cases, impacted by compressed air, the compressed air being passed through a bore or passage within the piston, such that the cylinder is urged to move in vertical direction to an upper position. This movement is limited by a roller that is secured to the cylinder, which roller is configured to rotate about its longitudinal axis, and with the roller contacting a curved path of a stationary cam structure. By way of the rotating movement of the rotor of the container filling machine, the roller rolls upon the curved path of the cam structure, that is, it follows the course of the curved path of the cam structure and simultaneously carries out an upwardly directed movement and a downwardly directed movement, which movements, due to the configuration of the design of the machine, are also carried out by the support table and, accordingly, a container supported on a support table.
Lifting devices have been proposed, for example, in German Patent No. DE 39 19 565. In its designed structure it follows the above-described features, but with means for cleaning of the lifting device not being present, this prior art embodiment providing a considerable disadvantage. German Patent No. 39 19 565 and its corresponding European Patent Application Publication 0 402 643 published on Dec. 19, 1990 and naming Andreas Finger et al. as inventors, are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein.
Lifting devices that comprise means to clean the lifting devices have hitherto not become known.
A further drawback with lifting devices arises in practical operation thereby that the seals that are disposed between the piston rod and the inner wall of the cylinder are subjected to high wear. Particularly contributing to wear is the fact that the seal is moved at a high frequency over a lengthy path over a smooth, but dry, metal surface.